Can peanut butter be magical? Koeze Company’s is. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, it’s likely to conjure memories of lunchboxes filled with PB&J sandwiches and ants on a log built with friends and family. Even if peanut butter wasn’t a childhood favorite, it’s bound to enchant you, too.
Koeze Company was founded by Sibbele Koeze, an immigrant from the Netherlands who settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the 1880s. Interestingly, his claim to fame is a product the rest of the world associates with Americans: peanut butter. Koeze’s business, which launched in 1910, was originally known for its fresh produce. But soon, his love of handcrafted artisanal foods took over. These days, the company bills itself as a purveyor of gourmet nut products.
This shift also happened because Americans went, well, nuts for nut butters! Peanut butter first gained popularity in the United States when meat was rationed during World War I. It has been a national favorite ever since, but finding it in other countries can be challenging. In the 1920s, Koeze realized that making peanut butter could be a love letter to his new homeland as well as a tool for fortifying his business.
Somehow, the company’s Cream-Nut Peanut Butter is more than the sum of its two parts: flavorful Virginia peanuts and a pinch of sea salt. Cream-Nut Natural Smooth bursts with bold peanut flavor thanks to blanched, toasted Virginia peanuts and a bit of sea salt. Big chunks of these special nuts get incorporated to create Cream-Nut Natural Crunchy. If a peanut butter can rock your socks off, this is the one thanks to its contrasting textures.
One of our shoppers, Robert D., calls Cream-Nut “the best in the world. Everyone I give it to says the same thing.” To us, this scrumptious spread is simply Koeze, pronounced “coo-zee.”
Spreading Peanut Butter Love Since 1925
The main type of peanut butter the big brands sell got its start in 1920, when E.K. Pond (now called Peter Pan) started using hydrogenation to keep oil from separating from the rest of the spread. Hydrogenation also extends peanut butter’s shelf life so it can endure long trips across the country. Today, the shipping process is faster but hydrogenation has stuck around, even though it increases the amount of saturated fat in each jar and can change the product’s flavor.
Natural peanut butter is a rebel of sorts, displaying its oil and lack of hydrogenation as proudly as a freshly inked skull tattoo. The natural peanut butter Koeze makes is also testament to the power of high-quality ingredients and simple recipes. The company’s methods of manufacturing peanut butter have changed very little since their 1925 debut. Embracing its penchant for traditional production processes, Koeze even uses much of the same equipment as it did a century ago. It roasts 300-pound batches of peanuts over a flame in a vintage coffee roaster, bringing out their natural sweetness through caramelization. As Val Neff-Rasmussen of Zingerman’s Mail Order notes, this roast-fest “makes the production space smell incredible, like fresh peanut butter cookies that have just come out of the oven.”
Koeze on Our Menu
The “secret” ingredient in quite a few dishes we prepare in the Deli kitchen is Koeze Peanut Butter. It brings depth of flavor to the Spicy Thai Green Beans, Spicy Eggplant, Thai Noodles, and Ginger Noodles in our salad case. It’s the star of our Kids’ PB&J Sandwich and a popular bagel topping at our Next Door Café.
Koeze also appears in many specialties on our Catering & Events menu, from the sauce for the sweet potato latkes on the Hanukkah menu to the delicious chicken skewers on the Events menu.
We also carry super sidekicks for these peanutty provisions. Our selection of preserves is a tasty starting point. For an all-Michigan PB&J, pair Koeze Cream-Nut with American Spoon Sour Cherry Preserves and a Zingerman’s Bakehouse classic such as Rustic Italian Bread. Or, spread Cream-Nut on a toasted slice of hearty True North Bread, perhaps with a drizzle of Moon Shine Trading Co. Idaho Snowberry Honey. This peanut butter is a heavenly stuffing for dates and a wonderful addition to salad dressings, curries, ice cream, homemade peanut butter cups, and chocolatey baked goods. If you’re not ready to prepare a meal or snack, take a sliver of advice from Zingerman’s co-founder Ari: Weinzweig “Pop open that jar, take a deep breath, appreciate the aroma, and enjoy one of the best versions of this American classic you can find.”
